Ministers advance ‘Feldstein Law,’ giving immunity for passing classified info to PM
Bill to be brought to Knesset on Wednesday; AG says legislation constitutes ‘improper political interference’ in document leaks case against Netanyahu aide Eli Feldstein
Ministers on Sunday advanced the so-called Feldstein Law, which would make it impossible for soldiers and other members of the defense establishment to be prosecuted for giving classified intelligence, without authorization, to the prime minister or defense minister.
The law was approved by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation and will be brought to the Knesset for its preliminary reading on Wednesday.
The proposed law comes in response to charges against Eli Feldstein, a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and an unnamed IDF reservist relating to their alleged involvement in the leak of stolen classified intelligence information to the foreign press.
The law’s proponents — Likud MKs Hanoch Milwidsky and Amit Halevi — claimed the legislation was necessary because “even during the war, critical documents regarding the enemy’s intentions did not reach the desks of decision-makers in the political leadership.”
The military and defense establishment have denied accusations that senior politicians have been kept out of the loop, and have opposed the bill.
Feldstein is accused of leaking to the German newspaper Bild material from a document stolen from an IDF database by the second defendant, an IDF noncommissioned officer (NCO), in a bid to sway public opinion against a truce-hostage deal in Gaza.
While the law has been dubbed the “Feldstein Law,” Eli Feldstein is not a soldier and there has been no evidence to suggest that he gave the stolen documents to any lawmaker, including Netanyahu. The prime minister has said that he first learned of the document from the Bild report.
An official told the Ynet news site that the Prime Minister’s Office already had access to the documents in question in the Feldstein case, indicating the legislation was unnecessary.
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara spoke out against the law on Sunday, saying it could constitute “improper political interference” in a criminal case concerning individuals close to Netanyahu.
“There is serious concern that this is personal legislation, aimed at improper political interference in a criminal proceeding concerning those close to the prime minister,” Baharav-Miara said in a statement.
MK Gadi Eisenkot of the opposition’s National Unity party called for government ministers not to support the bill.
According to Eisenkot, the proposed law’s “transparent purpose is to provide retroactive protection to those who are currently facing the serious indictments of having caused significant security damage to the state’s security.”
Eisenkot warned that the proposed legislation “will harm the country’s security and destroy the interaction between the political leadership and the IDF, Shin Bet, and Mossad.”
Eisenkot, a former IDF chief of staff, added that “the Prime Minister’s Office, through the military secretary and his intelligence assistant, has direct and immediate access to all intelligence materials available across all intelligence and research bodies, without exception. Claims that the prime minister is being excluded from this material are a complete and dangerous lie, being exploited for political purposes.”
Feldstein and the unnamed IDF reservist were charged on November 21 with crimes relating to their alleged involvement in the case.
Feldstein was charged with transferring classified information with the intent to harm the state — a charge that can carry a sentence of life in prison — as well as illicit possession of classified information and obstruction of justice.
He is accused of leaking to Bild a document stolen from an IDF database by the other defendant, the IDF noncommissioned officer (NCO), in a bid to sway public opinion against a truce-hostage deal in Gaza. Feldstein allegedly received the document in June, and leaked it after six hostages were murdered by their Hamas captors at the end of August, when public criticism of Netanyahu’s handling of negotiations on a hostage deal spiked.
The Bild report on the leaked document highlighted Hamas’s ostensible strategy regarding the hostages, and Netanyahu cited it after its publication as reinforcement of his refusal to sanction a deal to end the war in return for the release of the hostages.
The unidentified NCO was charged with transferring classified information, an offense that is punishable by seven years in prison, as well as theft by an authorized person and obstruction of justice.
Feldstein and the unidentified NCO have been held in custody for four weeks, part of the time without access to legal counsel. Last week, a judge extended their detention until further notice as they await trial.
Last week, Netanyahu published a nine-minute video supporting Feldstein and claiming the accusations against him were unwarranted and hypocritical. Netanyahu himself is not a suspect in the case.
